Zalmay Khalilzad may return as US-Taliban mediator, says report. Who is he? Know about his deal-breaking career

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, may return as the mediator between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Experts told the Independent that the Trump administration may once again turn to Khalilzad to engage with the Taliban; including discussions about reopening the US embassy in Kabul.

“That would be a major boost in terms of international recognition for the militant regime that has been globally condemned for its assault on women’s rights,” the report stated.

Who is Zalmay Khalilzad? His life, career and education

Khalilzad’s life: He arrived in the United States as an immigrant teenager when the upheaval in Afghanistan started. He began his career at the US Department of State in 1986

Khalilzad’s career: Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born diplomat, is the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was appointed the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation on September 21, 2018.

Previously, Ambassador Khalilzad served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2007-2009, Ambassador to Iraq 2005-2007, and Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005.

He was also the special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005 and the Special Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at large for Free Iraqis from 2002 to 2003.

From 1985 to 1989 at the Department of State, Khalilzad served as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, working on policy issues and advising on the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet War in Afghanistan.

Khalilzad’s education/academia: As per the US government, Khalilzad received his bachelor’s (1972) and master’s (1974) degrees from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1980.

From 1979 to 1986, Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He was the Senior political scientist at RAND Corporation (1989-1991).

Khalilzad, the author: Khalilzad is the author of more than 200 books, articles, studies, and reports. His work has been translated into many languages, including Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Turkish. He is married and has two sons.

His memoir, The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World, was the most recent book.

Khalilzad, the negotiator: Khalilzad was behind the talks that led to America’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The deal ended the US’s longest war in Afghanistan.

He had helped execute the Joe Biden administration’s departure from Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power in the country in August 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency.

He was brought on board in September 2018 by the then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lead negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan Republic government led by Ashraf Ghani.

Khalilzad has served as a negotiator with rulers of Afghanistan for more than four decades, including with the Soviets in 1989 when the Russians withdrew from Afghanistan, the Independent reported.

He stepped down in October 2021 after serving as the US special envoy for Afghanistan for more than three years.

Why is Zalmay Khalilzad making news?

Khalilzad’s latest involvement in the release of an American hostage in Afghanistan led to speculations that he may again become a negotiator between the US and the Taliban.

Khalilzad appeared alongside George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta who the Taliban captured in December 2022 during a tourist visit to Afghanistan.

According to the Independent, Glezmann was released in a deal with the Trump administration brokered by Qatari negotiators.

But it was Khalilzad who travelled to Kabul, met with the Taliban’s foreign ministry officials and then accompanied the American back to the US.

Khalilzad then took to X to confirm Glezmann’s release, calling it a “good day”.

“Today is a good day. We succeeded in obtaining the release of an American citizen, Georg Glezmann, after two years in detention in Kabul,” he said.

“The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people. George is on his way home to his family,” Khalilzad wrote in the post from March 20.

It added, “@realDonaldTrump has made the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority. It is an honor to assist in this important effort.”

Meanwhile, David Loyn, author of The Long War, told the Independent, “There are talks that Trump might want to send him to Kabul as a full-time envoy.”

Awards Khalilzad won

1. For his service in Afghanistan, Khalilzad was awarded the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in 2004.

2. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in Iraq, 2007.

3. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1992.

4. According to his profile on the US government’s website, President Karzai awarded him the King Ghazi Ammanullah Medal, Afghanistan’s highest medal.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq, may return as the mediator between the US and Taliban in Afghanistan.

Experts told the Independent that the Trump administration may once again turn to Khalilzad to engage with the Taliban; including discussions about reopening the US embassy in Kabul.

“That would be a major boost in terms of international recognition for the militant regime that has been globally condemned for its assault on women’s rights,” the report stated.

Who is Zalmay Khalilzad? His life, career and education

Khalilzad’s life: He arrived in the United States as an immigrant teenager when the upheaval in Afghanistan started. He began his career at the US Department of State in 1986

Khalilzad’s career: Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born diplomat, is the former US Ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq. He was appointed the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation on September 21, 2018.

Previously, Ambassador Khalilzad served as US Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2007-2009, Ambassador to Iraq 2005-2007, and Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2003 to 2005.

He was also the special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005 and the Special Presidential Envoy and Ambassador at large for Free Iraqis from 2002 to 2003.

From 1985 to 1989 at the Department of State, Khalilzad served as Special Advisor to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, working on policy issues and advising on the Iran-Iraq war and the Soviet War in Afghanistan.

Khalilzad’s education/academia: As per the US government, Khalilzad received his bachelor’s (1972) and master’s (1974) degrees from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1980.

From 1979 to 1986, Khalilzad was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He was the Senior political scientist at RAND Corporation (1989-1991).

Khalilzad, the author: Khalilzad is the author of more than 200 books, articles, studies, and reports. His work has been translated into many languages, including Arabic, Chinese, German, Japanese, and Turkish. He is married and has two sons.

His memoir, The Envoy: From Kabul to the White House, My Journey Through a Turbulent World, was the most recent book.

Khalilzad, the negotiator: Khalilzad was behind the talks that led to America’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan. The deal ended the US’s longest war in Afghanistan.

He had helped execute the Joe Biden administration’s departure from Afghanistan as the Taliban returned to power in the country in August 2021 after waging a twenty-year insurgency.

He was brought on board in September 2018 by the then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lead negotiations with the Taliban and the Afghan Republic government led by Ashraf Ghani.

Khalilzad has served as a negotiator with rulers of Afghanistan for more than four decades, including with the Soviets in 1989 when the Russians withdrew from Afghanistan, the Independent reported.

He stepped down in October 2021 after serving as the US special envoy for Afghanistan for more than three years.

Why is Zalmay Khalilzad making news?

Khalilzad’s latest involvement in the release of an American hostage in Afghanistan led to speculations that he may again become a negotiator between the US and the Taliban.

Khalilzad appeared alongside George Glezmann, an airline mechanic from Atlanta who the Taliban captured in December 2022 during a tourist visit to Afghanistan.

According to the Independent, Glezmann was released in a deal with the Trump administration brokered by Qatari negotiators.

But it was Khalilzad who travelled to Kabul, met with the Taliban’s foreign ministry officials and then accompanied the American back to the US.

Khalilzad then took to X to confirm Glezmann’s release, calling it a “good day”.

“Today is a good day. We succeeded in obtaining the release of an American citizen, Georg Glezmann, after two years in detention in Kabul,” he said.

“The Taliban government agreed to free him as a goodwill gesture to @POTUS and the American people. George is on his way home to his family,” Khalilzad wrote in the post from March 20.

It added, “@realDonaldTrump has made the freedom and homecoming of Americans held abroad a high priority. It is an honor to assist in this important effort.”

Meanwhile, David Loyn, author of The Long War, told the Independent, “There are talks that Trump might want to send him to Kabul as a full-time envoy.”

Awards Khalilzad won

1. For his service in Afghanistan, Khalilzad was awarded the Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in 2004.

2. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in Iraq, 2007.

3. Department of Defense medal for outstanding public service in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1992.

4. According to his profile on the US government’s website, President Karzai awarded him the King Ghazi Ammanullah Medal, Afghanistan’s highest medal.